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Molly Samuel
Multimedia Producer, Climate Watch

Molly Samuel joined KQED as an intern in 2007, and since then has worked here as a reporter, producer, director and blogger. Before becoming Multimedia Producer, she was an occasional contributor and fill-in producer for Climate Watch.

Molly has also reported for NPR, KALW and High Country News, and has produced audio stories for The Encyclopedia of Life and the Oakland Museum of California. She was a fellow with the Middlebury Fellowships in Environmental Journalism and a journalist-in-residence at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. Molly has a degree in Ancient Greek from Oberlin College and is a co-founder of the record label True Panther Sounds.

Stories (36 archives)

When it comes to oil production, California is no Texas. But the Golden State is actually third among states extracting crude oil from the ground -- just behind the Lone Star State and North Dakota. Valero, the nation's largest refiner of oil, now wants to start using trains to bring that crude oil to its refinery in the San Francisco Bay Area. And that's raising concerns about safety and air pollution in the East Bay city of Benicia.

The stretch of Highway 1 known as Devil's Slide has plagued drivers for more than 75 years. The road, south of San Francisco, has closed numerous times due to landslides, turning a seven-mile drive down the coast into a 45-mile detour. And the sharp turns are notorious for causing collisions. Not any more: Tuesday morning two new tunnels are opening to traffic.

If you visit the slice of Central California serenity known as the Pinnacles, you might notice the sign now says, "National Park." The spot, south of Hollister, is named for the spindly rock spires at its center. The designation of the Pinnacles means California now has more national parks than any other state.

Stanford University -- a center for research on ecology and the environment -- is now facing a lawsuit from environmentalists. Searsville Dam is located at Jasper Ridge, a nature preserve on Stanford's campus. An attorney for two Bay Area environmental groups says the dam is keeping Central California Coast steelhead from the upper reaches of San Francisquito Creek. A Stanford spokeswoman says the dam itself has created a wetland area above it, which supports many species.